The Irish standard., 1887-07-16
LADY AND WOMAN.
The Inconceivable Prejudice Existing
Against the Latter Term.

Against the Latter Term.
It is quite possible that cook, or a
chambermaid, or laundress may be a
lady at heart. It is Also possible that
the mistress of the house may be in no
sense a lady. And this brings us to
the query: "What does the word lady
signify?" To most of US, if we think
about it, it means a human being of
the female sex, gifted with culture,
refinement and breeding. We UNDER
stand it in some way as descriptive of
the kind of woman under considers
ton. 1t does not mean the costume
she wears. The number of dollars to
her credit has nothing to do with it,
and it certainly does not apply to every
person who wears petticoat. But,
Notwithstanding the general convic-
ton that ''lady' conveys peculiar
meaning, there has long been
tendency, even among well-bred peo~
pie, to refer to every woman, except
the lowest working class, as lady.
The custom among domessics Of
clubbing the entire part of female crea~
ton as ladies I have sometimes attrib-
uted to our democratic form of gov
ernment The peasants Of the old
world never dream Of being ladies
in their own country. They come
here, where their chance is as good AS
any ones one day to ride i'll their own
coacl,-and-four; they find others no
better than they called ladies; the word
has q pleasant sound i'll their untutored
and unreasoning ears. and they cling
to it, as if by keeping IA tight grip they
would the sooner reach the coveted
position. This is notion Of my own,
III which may be mistaken. At all
events the practice prevails, particular
ly among the class I have mentioned,
and 10 amount Of reasoning will be
likely to uproot it.
But why is there g prejudice against
the term woman? It is Il good Anglo
Saxon word, comprehensive and intel
ligent, and, us I understand it, carries
no reproach with it. No greater praise
can he paid to the human female than
to call her &; 81 womanly woman" 1t
gives All impression of a combination
of virtues and graces OF mind and
heart that can be conveyed by no other
words. "a fine woman, ga good
woman" or ga plain woman " is quite
sufficient for ordinary usage. The only
time and season when there seems to
be any real demand for the wore: lady
is in describing a woman OF rare ac-
compljshmcnts, elegant manners and
high birth. And, after all, it seems 70
me that the terms gentlewomar and
lady are synonymous. The one is de-
fined as gentle and well-bred. Does
the other mean more on less? 1t does
not follow that "we]l-bred means
elegance of manner The most suaye
and polished exterior may be rotten ut
the core, and an unpretentious surface
may conceal the kindness and gentle
ness Of nature without. which no man
or woman can deserve the ;appeIlation
OF gentleman or lady. But iii spite Of
the forcgcne conclusion that woman il
q proper and sensible title for all fe-
male humankind, there is % tremendous
prejudice against it, especially among
workingwomen of the intermediate
class. The saleswo1nen in stores are
among the greatest sticklers for their
rights in this matter. Has any one
ever known q 'saleawornan " to ad-
vertise for 81 place? Every paper, how
ever, sets forth the wants Of more or
less subsidies" They may every
one OF them he Ladies. Are they any
the les;, women? --PhS!0&iekp}sit Reco7:J.